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Aboveground Records Will Close

After nearly 20 years in business, Aboveground Records, the landmark indie Island record store that has had a following among people of all ages, plans to close its doors.

On Wednesday morning this week Aboveground founder and owner Michael Barnes announced a closing date for the beloved store at the Triangle in Edgartown by posting a simple message reading on the store’s Facebook page: “1995-2014.”

Vinyl paradise was heart of the Island.
— Ivy Ashe

“We’re in the final three months,” Mr. Barnes told the Gazette on Wednesday. He said he will likely close in the first week of January 2014.

Mr. Barnes said the decision to close the store was not a financial one but rather a desire to do “something different with my life.” The next stage will probably not involve retail, he said.

“It’s always been like, maybe next year,” he said. “Really, what made me choose to decide to end it was . . . I didn’t feel like I had any future to give to it right now.” When he made his decision a few weeks ago, he said, it was as though a weight had been lifted.

“I’m very much at peace with it, and it’s been a great run,” Mr. Barnes said. He has no plans to sell the Aboveground brand itself or to liquidate the music stock, and will likely have “a very small version of Aboveground at community events,” as a pop-up shop.

Mr. Barnes said he did not want people to be sad about the decision, but said instead that Aboveground Records “is not about me; it’s never been about me.” In the span of 10 minutes at the store on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Barnes had received three or four calls from friends and former employees asking about the news (he also received one call asking for a “Mister Barn-nez”).

“It’s going to be harder for some people to take than others,” he acknowledged.

Mr. Barnes opened Aboveground Records on June 17, 1995. He was 21 years old.

“It was the only thing I knew how to do,” he said. He had previously worked at Poindexter Records in Wilmington, N.C., and interned at MCA Records in Chicago before returning to the Vineyard and starting work at Island Entertainment in Vineyard Haven. In 1995, he was offered a job running Island Entertainment. At the same time, the space at the Triangle became available for rent. Mr. Barnes took a chance and founded his own music store. In the late 1990s, he expanded Aboveground into the unit next door and purchased the entire space outright, a move that would help sustain the business after the digital era of music dawned and standalone record stores became rarities. As the .mp3 became more prevalent, a larger portion of Mr. Barnes’s business model centered around used CDs and vinyl.

“We’ve made it so much farther than I ever thought,” Mr. Barnes said. In 2012, he downsized the store to its current space, bringing an end to a different era: the live music-store concert. The cozy space had long offered bands a unique showcase, surrounded by bins of vinyl. Local band Kahoots played its first concert at Aboveground Records. Over the years, Mr. Barnes also worked to help promote concerts at other Island businesses, such as Offshore Ale Company and the Atlantic Connection. He still places Island musicians front and center, in both the figurative and literal sense. CDs by local artists Nina Violet, Willy Mason, the Taxidermists and Hee Hawk get front-counter placement at the store. A poster from a 2011 Kahoots tour hangs on the wall just behind the register.

As with any indie institution, the atmosphere of the store is nearly as distinct as its selection of vinyl and CDs — the Star Wars figures on the shelves, the hand-lettered signs, the bumper stickers adorning every shelf.

A neon orange T-shirt hangs in the front window, with yellow type spelling out the store’s name in an all-lowercase font. On the front is a large lowercase-a with an asterisk next to it.

Over the years, Aboveground Records also achieved a following based on these T-shirts, instantly recognizable by the a-and-asterisk combination. A 2005 New York Times story proclaimed Aboveground T-shirts the hottest summer trend, boosting sales considerably.

*a T-shirts, get them while they last.
— Ivy Ashe

Mr. Barnes said he did not plan to order new stock of T-shirts before closing, but that he would be placing an order for hoodie and zip-up sweatshirts closer to the holidays.

But he said, where it would say “Edgartown” or “Martha’s Vineyard,” or “Est. 1995,” the text will read “A Good Time Had.”

As a 2003 Gazette story about the store noted: “Underneath the tunes playing from the store stereo system is the conversation, the banter and a friendly vibe that makes you feel like you’ve walked on the set of some homegrown, late-night talk show.”

“We always refer to — it’s Team Aboveground,” Mr. Barnes said Wednesday. ‘”People who just get that it’s a place to go to not get caught up in all the other stuff. What stands out is how people have just been so encouraging of it, and everybody’s kind of made it their own.”

“It’s astounding,” he concluded. “I’m very proud of it, and it’s been a lot of people who’ve made it that way.”

Michael! Long time no hear/see my friend! I just caught wind that you're closing!? I would love a hoodie (as my old one is long gone), any chance you'd be willing to snag me a small pull over blue and send it all the way to wa state!? How exciting-new adventures for you! Cheers!!

Greatest record store on the planet...the shop will be missed dearly! All the best to Mike,and all of us who make up Team Aboverground will carry on with a lifetime of great memories. Our minds, hearts, and record collections are grateful.

Great store. It was the one place on the island where I was always happy to spend money. Very sad to see it go. But thanks, Michael, to you and your staff for all the years of helping me find great music.

Your store has been a part of our MV experience ever since we've been coming here on our vacations, for twenty years. We always made it a point to go and buy at Aboveground. You always had what I wanted and Mike was always up for a chat about Music with my husband. Amazing how fast the years went! Thanks for hanging in for so long! You touched more people than (I think) you know!

:(...I first went there when I was 6 or 7 and I fell in love, i bought many, used life changing cds that shaped me into the person and artist I am today, now I'm 24 and will greatly miss this place. Not to mention the awe that struck my mind, looking around as a little starwars fan!]

Mike was always there with a SMILE and a story ! I have a great collection of albums & play them often. Sad to see what was a THE BIG beginning to Vinyl in the 50's come to a slow ending ! I'm really sad technology has put so many people out of business ...but those great memories will go on forever ~~~~ Good luck in your NEXT CHAPTER ~ there is more to your story...As Darth Vader would say "I HAVE NOW ! "

Thanks for all the great memories! Always friendly and quick with help. Such a nice place to hang out and talk music. One of my few favorite places on island to shop. WMVY and now this? What's going on?

loved to have you here! is too costly and closed down too long ie winter..
please find a shope closer to a collage town ie. columbus oh. miami,la,reno, dont laugh reno is a growing market still lotts of $$ there climet good too....go find yourselves again [please dont give your collection away] go get out live no life left here...